Friday Notes, 9/24/2021

Dear Panther Families,

Thank you for helping our students be respectful, responsible and safe arriving and leaving the school each day! And a special thank you to the Harrington Team Realtors for donating signs denoting “Bus Parking Only” and “Car Rider” areas that we have in the front of our school. They are very helpful.

Don’t forget that:

1. This Monday, 9/27, is Picture Day at Parkwood-Upjohn.

2. Our PTO Outdoor Movie Night is coming up on October 1st from 6:30 – 8:30 PM.

3. Friday, October 8th is a half day of school for students

Also, please refrain from walking up to the school with pets – even dogs on leashes – during arrival and dismissal times. Although it is rare, there have been conflicts (between pets) in the past.

Finally, be on the lookout for information regarding conferences from your child’s teacher.

Have a great weekend,

Mr. Murray

Friday Notes, 9/17/2021

Dear Panther Families,

Thank you for making sure all students get into and leave school safely every day at Parkwood-Upjohn. The teamwork of Panther staff, students, bus drivers and parents is great to see every morning and afternoon. At arrival and dismissal times, thank you for remembering that:

A. South Park Street (the front of the school) is only for buses to park.

B. All families that are picking up Car Riders must pull into our driveway to the back of the school and be in a vehicle.

C. Walkers are picked up from the Community Garden at the corner of South Park and Inkster.

Don’t forget about these upcoming events;

Tuesday, September 21st – PTO on the Blacktop: join us for an outdoor PTO meeting on the blacktop in the back of the school @6:30 PM

Monday, September 27th – Outdoor Picture Day at Parkwood-Upjohn

Friday, October 1st – PTO Outdoor Movie Night at Parkwood-Upjohn from 6:30-8:30 PM

Friday, October 8th – 1/2 Day of school for students

Lastly, KPS has open Food Service positions. Check out this flyer if you, or someone you know, is interested!

Have a great weekend,

Mr. Murray 

Friday Notes, 9/10/21

Dear Panther Families,

Thank you for an amazing first two weeks of school! Our students and staff have been enjoying reconnecting, digging deep into engaging curriculum and looking out for the needs of each other on a daily basis. It’s been exciting to watch students learning both in the classroom and in our uniquely enriching outdoor learning areas – such as our Community Gardens.

Here a couple of important upcoming events:

September 14th – The 2021 Parkwood-Upjohn Virtual Open House will be held in the evening. Please check with your child’s teacher for the exact time of the “live” portion of each class presentation. Each class and grade level will host unique synchronous and asynchronous Open House experiences.

September 27th – An outdoor 2021 Picture Day! Thank you to the Panther PTO and Salut Market for helping us with coverage, literally, for our outdoor event.

Finally, make sure to follow these dismissal procedures to keep all students safe:

1. Cross the street at designated crosswalks when walking.

2. Park only where allowed. No cars may park on South Park Street in front of the school on either side during dismissal.

3. When picking up “walker” students, do so at the Community Garden next to Inkster.

4. When picking up a student via car, parents must stay in the car and pick up from the back of the school via the Parkwood-Upjohn driveway.

Thank you for a great start to the 2021-2022 school year.

Best wishes,

Mr. Murray

Friday Notes on Thursday, 9/2/21

Dear Panther Families,

What an amazing first week back-to-school! It’s been great to see our students in the actual school building: watching them reconnect to each other, their teachers and in-person learning. Uniformly, our students have been respectful, responsible and safe during our first week of school!

Here are a  few important notes and reminders;

1. There is NO SCHOOL tomorrow (Friday) or this coming Monday. This weekend is a four-day weekend for students. The school office is open from 8-3 on Friday, September 3rd.

2. Picture Day at Parkwood-Upjohn Elementary will be postponed. InterState Photography, our Picture Day vendor for this school year has assured us that they can comfortably meet our requirements for this year’s Picture Day but will not be ready to do so by the original date, Tuesday, September 7th. Once a new date has been confirmed, I will share this information with you.

All Picture Day orders are still valid and will be honored. You may continue to order pictures online and those orders will be honored. If you have ordered pictures online, you will still receive your order once we have held Picture Day. If you have already returned a physical Picture Day order to the office, your order will be honored. If you planned to place an order by physically sending money with your child to the school next week, please refrain from doing so at this time. Once the new Picture Day date has been established, we will be able to set in motion a revised ordering process.

Thank you for your patience and for helping make Picture Day, and this school year, a tremendous success for our students at Parkwood-Upjohn.

3. Student paperwork packets have been sent home with students. Make sure to return the “Household Income” form. It is very important for our record-keeping and school funding that all families return this form with their child to school. 

3. If your student is a Car Rider, thank you for staying in your car while picking up your child. If you wish to walk to the school to pick up your child, please communicate with your child’s teacher that you will be picking up in the front of the school near the Upjohn Community Garden.

Have a great weekend,

Mr. Murray

Friday Notes, 8/27/21

Dear Panther Families,

It was so great to see so many of you at our Back to School Social yesterday! We have never been more ready to start a school year at Parkwood-Upjohn and are so happy that you are part of our Panther Family. Don’t forget these following important first day and first week reminders;

1. On the first day of school, teachers will meet their students in the front of the school with signs denoting their name and their students’ names. If you wish to walk – or park and walk to the front of the school – you will be able to drop your child of with his or her teacher on the very first day of school only. The first day is a 1/2 day and ends at 12 PM.

2. Students can be dropped off between 8:44 and 8:55 AM. Students may not be dropped off before this time. Please feel free to refer to this map to find the appropriate entrance for your child. 

3. Many parents have received color coded placards that will be needed if you choose to drive your child to school and drop him/her off from your car. Parents of Car Rider students will need to;

A. Remain in their cars.

B. Follow Support Staff guidance to drop off and/or pick up their child while remaining in their cars.

C. Bring a photo ID and the color coded placard that identifies their child. The office has these placards if you have not yet been able to pick one up.

D. Arrive between 8:44 and 9 AM to drop off

E. Arrive between 11:45 AM and 12 PM on half days and 3:30 and 3:45 PM on full days to pick up students.

4. Masks must be worn by students while in the school building.

5. At this time, parents may come to the office as needed during the school day but only school personnel may work with students in the classrooms.

6. There is no school on Friday, September 3rd or Monday September 6th.

Friday Notes, 8/20/21

Dear Panther Families,

We are excitedly counting down the days to the start of the 2021-2022 school year at Parkwood-Upjohn on August 30th! Our first day will be a half day that will end at 12 PM. Our first full day will be August 31st and will end at 3:44 PM. Attached, please find the Morning Arrival and Afternoon Dismissal Map that we will all use this year. Make sure to remember that there will be no supervision of children before 8:44 AM each morning. Parents may not drop off students before 8:44 AM.

At lunch time, students will eat both out of doors and in our cafeteria. The reduced number of diners in a given lunch area will improve; cleanliness, volume and comfort for all students. We believe that this will be a positive change that we can implement permanently (weather permitting).

Also, don’t forget that we are hosting our annual Back to School BBQ on August 26th from 4:30-6 PM at the school playground. This will be our first celebration of many as we kick off our 100th – and most exciting – year ever of school at Parkwood-Upjohn! Thank you to our PTO for helping to coordinate this event.

Thanks for being a Panther,

Mr. Murray